It Started With A Bench
by darkdecember95
Summary: Renji Abarai always walks past the local park on his journey home from the college campus, but he has never gone in before. On a Friday evening, he does and unknowingly occupies a bench that someone else usually claims for his own. Renji/Byakuya.


Friday was a windy day.

Bright leaves painted in the colours of sunset, the sky overcast with clouds, the streets littered with people rushing to get home after work. I doing the same, walking back to my apartment after all my classes had ended. The journey between home and the college campus always had me walking past the local park but I have never gone in before. Between college classes, homework and my part-time job, I could hardly catch a break since moving here four months ago.

I was in a rather good mood that day, classes were over for the week and I had a gloriously full weekend of nothing to do. As soon as I completed my assignments, that is. The coffee place I worked at was temporarily closed for renovation as well, freeing up a lot of my time which I would have spent working. On a whim, I decided to walk through the park before heading back home.

It was a quite a pretty park, filled with shady trees and flower beds. A spacious path wound through the park with a large lake dominating the centre. A pair of runners went past me and I glanced at them, wondering if I should start running here in the mornings instead of around my apartment block.

I followed a gravelly path branching off from the main one, drawing closer to the lake and finding an empty wooden bench. I sat down, placing my backpack next to me. The clear blue lake was now in front of me, right across the path. The surface rippled gently, propelled by the constant wind today. I stared for a while, the small movement hypnotising.

Sighing, I leaned back and took my laptop out of my bag. I wanted to stay a bit so I might as well get some work done while I was here.

I took a break from my assignment about an hour later, observing the people and greenery around me.

That was when I first saw him.

He was strolling slowly down the path, taking in the view and heading in my direction. He was dressed casually, in a dark blue shirt and a pair of black jeans. A snow-white scarf was wrapped around his neck and he had a book in his hand. And for some reason, he just stood out to me.

_Some reason?_ I questioned absent-mindedly as my gaze travelled down the stranger's lean body, subconsciously already knowing the answer.

It took a moment before I realised he had stopped walking and just stood there about five metres away from me.

I looked back up at his face, puzzling at the slight frown I saw there. My confusion grew when the frown redirected from me to the bench I was sitting on.

He then looked down at the book he was holding and back up at me with a determined expression, seeming to have decided on something.

He continued walking, stopping just before me. At this close a distance, I could see that he had a really pretty face, with delicate features that most girls would die for.

He then sat down gracefully next to me and started reading.

* * *

Oh, man.

You know how telling yourself not to do something will only cause the urge to do it be even stronger?

In my case, chanting '_do not look at him_' and '_do your damn assignment_' repeatedly and silently in my head did not help me make progress in either task. It only ended up in me staring a hole into my laptop screen for the past three minutes.

It also made me more aware of him; like the sound of his fingers drifting over a page before he turned it and the way he smelt like clean soap and sakura.

_Relax!_ I shook myself mentally, forcing my stiff shoulders downwards as I exhaled. I reread the previous sentence of my report to refresh myself and continued typing the next line.

I finished about two more paragraphs before I lost my concentration again. My ears picked up his soft exhale and out of the corner of my eye I saw him adjusting his position slightly so that he was sitting nearer to the middle of the bench, and by consequence, me.

My fingers faltered on the keyboard and I took a deep breath to calm myself.

Bad idea.

I swallowed tightly as I inadvertently took a deep breath of _his scent_.

_Is the sakura part of his cologne?_ I wondered. _Or is it just him?_

Frowning, I viciously stabbed the period key, ending my sentence with a full stop. _What's gotten into me? I don't even know the guy. No, do not look at him._

Ah, damn it.

My eyes flickered to the side, catching a glimpse of the silent figure next to me. He was leaning back on the bench, holding his book open on his lap. His black hair was tied loosely at the nape of his neck and pulled to one side, over his right shoulder.

There was a sudden gust of wind, causing the pages of his book to flutter and strands of his hair to sweep across his face. My own red hair was held up in a high ponytail, a cloth bandanna securing any stray strands back so I wouldn't have to fuss with it. My eyes widened when I saw what he did next.

He raised a hand calmly, tucking his hair back neatly behind his ear.

That seemingly innocent yet intimate action of his caused a flush to creep up my neck and I quickly looked back at my laptop screen, focusing on the dreary lines of words instead of those slender fingers of his.

An hour passed and I managed to finish the report without anymore distractions. Satisfied, I saved the document and turned off my laptop. A movement to my left caught my eye and I saw the stranger sitting next to me for the past hour standing up.

He seemed to notice me staring at him as he inclined his head slightly to me, saying, "Good night."

"Good night," I replied automatically, slightly stunned that he would say anything to me. He had a low voice, a voice that sent a slight shiver up my spine.

I let out a long sigh once he was out of earshot, slumping back on the bench. Rubbing the back of my neck, I winced at my (hopefully not too obvious) reaction towards him.

_Seriously_, I thought to myself, _am I that attracted to him?_

Of course, I've made plenty of buddies since coming here, both in my college and apartment block.

I cast a contemplating look at the direction he had headed off to, his back a small black dot by now.

But the last time I'd been with someone was with my last boyfriend. We had a mutual breakup before I moved out here as we both knew that a long-distance relationship wouldn't work out between us. And no one else had caught my attention since. Until now.

"I guess I _am_," I mumbled glumly.

Night was falling soon, the previously unlit park lamps all lit up now, bathing the park in a soft glow.

_Better head back_, I thought, tucking my laptop back into my backpack. I stood up and followed the main path to get out of the park. On the way I passed by several benches.

Empty benches.

Wait a second. He chose an occupied bench over an empty one. People don't normally do that. Do they?

Suddenly his earlier frown made sense.

I looked back, taking note of where the bench we occupied was.

My smile slowly grew into a full-blown grin. So, that was his usual bench then?

I guess I'll be coming here more often from now on.

* * *

**A/N: I've lost count of how many times I've gone over this and I'm still not entirely satisfied. But I think if I keep editing it, there'll be no end. -_-**

**I'm trying out multi-chapter fic this time, and I sort of have a draft going, but no promises on the next chapter. Sorry! I'll need to solidify the storyline first before doing anything else, I just wanted to get this out and see the response (if there's any).**

**You can view this as a oneshot if you like, however, and not wait for the next chapter. That said, thanks for reading and do let me know what you think! :)**


End file.
